The sky was pouring rain, as if the heavens had released the floodgates onto the world below.
Walls upon walls of water struck the land with such a ferocity that they eroded away whole towns in an instant. Arcs of lightning set forests ablaze, yet miraculously, the flames were not suffocated.
A barren field was littered with corpses and broken metal.
Disaster kneeled alone in the dirt, a limp figure crumpled within his arms.
His helmet retracted, and the ribbons of his velvety black hair fell past his ghastly pale skin.
The blood red color of his eyes was muted by the glistening tears that rushed down his cheeks.
His sorrowful gaze never left that of the woman in his arms.
He hoped, he prayed that at some point, breath would return to her lungs the way it always came back to him.
The heavens did not grant his wish. His companion's life was permanently extinguished. The light she carried inside of her never reaching it's full radiance.
Five other metal figures surrounded the grieving metal giant as he held on to the last piece of joy in his life.
"...I have spared you from a great and unenviable tragedy. A courtesy that you have not seen fit to extend to myself."
Raizel bit down on his lip so hard that his teeth sliced through the flesh. He could feel his body's regeneration trying to force his mouth to regrow around his teeth.
A suit of armor floated towards him, it's wearer bearing no head, but a radiant golden sun instead.
The rain, for some reason, never reached him. It seemed to bounce off an invisible field that prevented him from becoming soiled by the elements.
"You will never know what it is like to raise something into glory, only to have it turn around and bare it's fangs at you upon achieving it's adolescence. My benevolence has spared you from incomprehensible heartache. Are you not grateful?"
Raizel's eyes shone with such hate that they produced their own steam.
Slowly, Raizel's helmet grew to cover his face again.
He released a roar of pure agony as he turned his head towards the sky.
Suddenly, a sea of giant meteors burst through the clouds and barreled towards the shattered ground.
-
"Hey. Stop staring at her, it's creepy."
Raizel's eyes regained their focus only after several minutes of staring a hole into Nila's back.
She was walking in a completely different direction from him and Solomon. The greatsword strapped to her back was the last thing he saw of her before she turned the corner.
Raizel turned back to Solomon with a tense, needy look.
"...Brother, I'm sorry, but you'll have to fend for yourself for the day… I need to follow her."
Solomon raised his brow. "Who is that girl to you?"
Raizel did not immediately answer, and dropped his gaze.
"...You should know that my intention isn't to keep anything from you. But brother, even I have some things that..."
Solomon had never seen his brother like this before. Not once in all of his years.
He nodded his head resolutely and began walking away from the spirit.
"I get it. Tell me when you're ready." Solomon stalked off. "And, you know... I can help you talk to her if you li-"
"No, no.." Raizel shook his head. "I'm... not quite ready for that just yet." He admitted. "This is enough."
Solomon suddenly paused in his tracks.
"...Is it really enough?"
Again, Raizel took his time answering.
"...No. No it's not."
With just that response, Solomon knew exactly what kind of relationship Nila and Raizel must've had.
And as someone whose own grief was still fresh, he related to his brother in a way that he never had before.
-
In comparison with knight classes, mage lectures were held in much less 'rigorous' environments.
To be specific, a standard lecture hall lined with rows of wooden desks that descended towards a stage.
At the feet of the class, there was a nice, wide space with many magical instruments on display.
The highlight of the hall was the enormous shard of crystal hanging from the ceiling rafters.
It was attracting the wrong kind of attention.
"An aspect crystal...? What, does she think we're children or something?"
"To her, I guess we are... elves don't usually start looking like that until they're well into their hundreds."
"But still, this feels unnecessary. Who among us would have come this far if they didn't know what kind of magic they could use...?"
The doors to the hall suddenly opened once again, and the sound of heavy footsteps drew everyone's attention.
Solomon stepped into everyone's view, and the atmosphere of the room changed entirely.
In contrast with knight students, who typically wear armor and carry a weapon, mage students typically donned robes and dressed in suits with ties.
It wasn't necessary attire. But it was a visual manifestation of the assumed disparity between knights who used aura and mages who dealt with the more complicated, more sophisticated art of magic.
Seeing Solomon enter unexpectedly, most of the students inside thought that he was lost.
When he trudged down the steps and found an empty seat away from everyone else, the joke began to lose it's appeal.
"...He's staying..?"
"I believe so. I did hear that there was at least one student who was taking dual enrollment in our year."
"But.. him? He's a certified brute..! Just look at him!"
Solomon could naturally hear everything that was being whispered about him.
If these were knights, he could break a couple of arms and likely make all the chatter stop. But these people were mages, unfortunately. breaking their spirits would likely require more than just snapping bone.
...Maybe.
Possibly.
...He would try it just to be sure.
Solomon started to stand up when suddenly there was a clap at the bottom of the classroom.
There, Solomon found the woman from orientation sitting at a desk.
She almost seemed colder than before. The look in her eyes was one of a profound sense of internal superiority. Solomon was noticing that most instructors here seemed to have that look about them...
"If you're all done babbling nonsensically, I'd like to get started now. Our time is limited enough as it is."
Yari stood up and the candles within the room instantaneously dimmed.
Simultaneously, the letters written on the chalkboard turned a misty blue color and began peeling off the surface.
They floated around the room in an impressive display, increasing the credibility of her words.
"Magic, despite its immense usefulness is thought to be very limiting and impractical.
Enchanters, conjurers, abjurators, diviners, and even the extremely rare contractors all have differing applications and specialties. This is the reason why almost every non-combative mage was killed before they could even see the first day of class."
The mood in lecture hall was a dreary one.
The few non-combat mages who had managed to make it to today hadn't done so without injuries and without the loss of their pride.
"But, fear not. There is a way for you all to increase your might alongside your knowledge. And it isn't through the flawed circle system that the rest of the human population uses…
The goal of this class is to allow you all to grow and enhance a Spirit Heart. And once you do, you will gradually see the barriers between your magical abilities begin to crumble."
Solomon learned two things about Yari Assata on that first day of class.
The first was that she was as brilliant as the rising sun.
The second was that she may have also been just a little bit insane…